The Internet, as it is now used, is a highly interactive medium. Internet users can now read and create content or commentary relating to virtually any issue. Social networking websites, in particular, allow users to interact with each other in many ways, and to convey opinions, observations, or updates on their life as they see fit.
Online social networking has taken off in recent years. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and many others have acquired a large member base, with members located all around the world. These social networking websites allow users to interact with many friends and acquaintances at once, simply using a computer, as well as providing the opportunity to meet new friends (who may share the same interests) or to promote your own activities. They also allow a user to store photographs or videos and share them with friends or other interested parties.
Whilst social networking websites are becoming increasing popular, this popularity is generally dominated by younger generations. Older generations, often seen as less “Internet savvy”, often do not see the benefits of online social networking, or are unable to take advantage of these benefits due to difficulties in using the websites.
Another problem for social networking websites is that they raise issues of privacy and security. Users can often upload a large amount of personal information—addresses, phone numbers and personal photographs. Whilst most social networking websites allow users to use privacy settings to restrict access to this personal information (e.g. only to people in the user's “friends list”), if a user does not fully understand how to manage these settings, or understand the risks associated with publishing this information more widely, then this personal information may be published more broadly than the user intended it to be. This can, in some cases, create risks for users of social networking sites. One class of vulnerable people includes young people, who may identify their location in their personal information, and may also post that they are leaving home (or running away from home). Posting this information may put them at risk from online predators.
As many users of social networking sites are children or teenagers, they may be vulnerable to being exploited by older parties using these websites. However, as the majority of older generations are not overly familiar with these websites, there is some difficulty for them in supervising or educating children or teenagers. For example, a parent or teacher may be unable to adequately supervise their children or students, due to a lack of understanding of these sites. Indeed, they may not even properly understand the benefits of these social networking sites, which can make it difficult for them to relate to or influence the younger users.
There are many other issues raised by social networking websites. For example, there are questions as to how social networking websites should be used by organisational leaders to communicate more effectively using social media platforms. There are also social etiquette and ethical issues—for example, should information posted on a social networking website be consulted prior to employing a person, as part of a background check? Should managers monitor the use, by employees, of social networking websites? If so, should inappropriate use of these websites (in the view of the employer) be used as a ground of dismissal from employment? There is, therefore, a need to educate people about these issues, and assist them in developing ethical frameworks for using these websites.